Apparatus for sorting of articles according to size



1943- R'A. A. WHLLENS APPARATUS FOR SORTING OF ARTICLES ACCORDING TO SIZE Filed, April 15, 1941 3 INVENTOR RoberfA.A.Wil|rlS BY m Patented Dec. 14, 1943 APPARATUS FOR SORTING OF ARTICLES ACCORDING TO SIZE Robert Alfred Archibald Willens, London, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application April 15, 1941, Serial No. 388,610 In Great Britain May 8, 1940 5 Claims. ('Cl. 209-87) This invention relates to the sorting of articles according to size, and is particularly concerned with the sorting Of yarn packages in accordance with the amount of yarn contained therein.

According to the present invention an apparatus for sorting articles according to size comprises a pair of superposed sheet-like elements each having at least one aperture therein, each aperture overlapping an aperture in the other member and having a gauging edge cooperating with a gauging edge in the other member to form a compound aperture, and means for sliding said elements relatively to one another so as to increase the distance between said gauging edges and to allow an article resting in said compound aperture to pass through it at a stage depending on the size of the article. Preferably the apertures are formed in a pair of plates. the sl ding motion being efiected by rotatin the supe posed plates at the same speed about slightly different axes. In this way. t e relative motion of the two plates is accompanied b a'motion of both of them to ether relative to a series of chutes or containers into which the articles fa l at different points along the path followed by the compound apertures. so that any particular de ree of enla gernent of the openin is assoc ated with a particular point of said path. and with a part cular chute or container by which. in consequence. articles of a particular s ze are collected. The invention, thou h applicable to the sorting of articles generally. is particularly applicable to the sorting of yarn packages. since the mere resting in an aperture of increasing size is not liable to iniure the yarn or the surface of the package. The invention will be described hereafter, in this particular connection.

The mechanism required for sorting yarn packages or other articles in this manner is very simple in character involving very few separate moving parts. Thus, it may consist essent ally of a pair of circular plates adapted to be driven at equal angular speeds about axes offset from one another by a slight amount preferably equal to or slightly exceeding half the range of diameters of the packages to be sorted. A number of apertures are provided in each plate, each overlapping with a corresponding aperture in the other, so that each pair of overlapping apertures forms a smaller compound aperture whose size depends on the position of the two apertures around the plates, and changes as the plates rotate. The aperture in each plate provides, in the compound aperture, a gauging edge parallel to another gauging edge provided by the aperture in the other plate, and it is the moving apart of these gauging edges, on account of the fact that the plates rotate eccentrically with respect to each other, that causes the enlargement of the compound aperture as the plates rotate. In addition to the gauging edges, the compound aperture ha edges at right angles thereto, by which the package is longitudinally positioned in the aperture; preferably both these edges are provided in the same plate, the other plate being cut away so as not to interfere with these edges at any stage in the rotation of the plates at which gauging is taking place. Where the packages to be sorted are in the form of flanged bobbins, the plates must also be cut away at the ends of the gauging edges so as to accommodate freely the flanges of a partly filled package.

The invention is particularly applicable to the sorting of bobbins or similar packages that are to be employed for the making of warps. The invention is especially convenient where the packages contain artificial yarns and more particularly artificial yarns produced by the dry sp nning or evaporative method that is frequently employed in the production of yarns of cellulose acetate o o her or an c derivat ve of cell lose. In the production of artificial yarns the yarns may be wound as they are produced upon bobbins or like packages for which purpose a machine may be employed on which a large number of bobbins are wound simultaneously. It is convenient to run the bobbins fora predetermined time so that a predetermined amount of yarn is wound thereon. the bobbins on a given machine being systematically changed when they are full so that they all run for the same time. Where a breakdown occurs. however, so that one or more bobbins on the machine have not been running for the full predetermined time, it is not convenient to leave such bobbins after the rest have been changed and consequently some bobbins may be produced which do not carry the full quantity of yarn. When such bobbins are employed for warping they do not run for the same number of warps as the other bobbins which contain the full. quantity of yarn and this leads to inconvenience and delay in the warping operation. Consequently it is desirablethat these bobbins should be segregated from the rest and used separately, and further that they should be sorted whereby in a single warpin operation there may be employed a number of incomplet bobbinsall containing substantially the same quantity of Figures 3 and 4 are detail views showing the form of the gauging apertures in the two plates respectively.

other, so that the gauging edges I5 of the apertures of the upper plate 2 are parallel to the gauging edges II) of the corresponding apertures of the lower plate I, and since the plates rotate with exactly equal angular speeds, this condition is always maintained. In the compound apertures thus formed,'the gauging'e'dges I I, .I 5'when closest together, 'as'ishown in .Fig. 1a are spaced apart by a distance equal to the mean bobbin diameter minus the eccentricity of the plates, and when furthest apart, as shown in Fig. lg, by a distance equal to-the mean bobbin diameter plus the eccentricity. 'The eccentricity is therefore arranged to V be equal to half thedifierence between the diameterrof eaneernpty bobbin and that of a full one,

soothat the spacing between the edges I0, l5 ranges from the diameter of an empty bobbin to The essential parts of the machine-are'two hori- 1 zontal contacting circular plates I, 2 of about 3 feet in diameter, the lower plate I being rotatable about .a hub 3 while the upper .plate 2 is-rotatable about 'averltical shaft 4Jex'tending'upwards' 'from the hub 3 and having its centre displaced from the centre of the hub. 'Thepla'tes'l, 2 are driven at exactly equal angular speeds byproviding gear teeth 5 round the edge 'of eachplata'and'a'worm 6 engaging both sets of gear teeth 5 (at one of the two points where the "edgesof'the plates I, 2 intersect. I

Eachof the plates'contains twelve apertures I formed on radii (indicated at "8 and '-9 in Figs. 3 and 4 respectively) that-are evenly spaced about the centre c-fthe "plate. In the flower plate I the apertures have a shape, shown "infFig. 3, that is generally rectangular, the longer sides l0, I1 being parallel "to the radius 8 on which the plate is formed and the shorter sides IZ T3 atrig ht'an'g'les to thatr'adius; Theshorters'ides rzfliare s'paced apart by a distance -'euua;ltothelength or the bobbins' to b'e gauged, the-outer side-I 2 being close to theedgeof the plate 'I. Theright handrlonger side I'U'o'f the eperture as "shown in Fig,3;parallel to the radial line 8 and constituting the gauging edge, is spaced iromthe il ine 8 by'a ziistanceequal to the radiusof a half-filled hobhin and at the ends'of the side 'I ll recesses Mare made of sufficient width and depthto' accommodate freely the flanges of "an empty "bobbin. 7 The left-hand side H of the aperture is spaced from the right-hand -side III by a-distancerslightly exceeding the diameter 'of a full bobbin. itwill 'be :seen that the centre line of each aperture is thus offset from the radial line :8 parallel to ite-longer edges I0, H

a greater part-of the aperture being to thetleft than to the right.

Theapertures in the upper plate 2 as shown in Fig.'4-a;re-gehera11y sim lar .in

form to those in the lower .plate t, except that the sides I5. -|6are1onger (radially) than the sides ill, 14 by anamount'slightly exceeding the =eccentri city between the plates, and the allowances I 7 for .the flanges at the ends o'f -the.gauging edge I5, which arein thislcase on the 'left hand side of the apertures exceed the thickness of the aid-not cdmezin eontacttwithfithe lbobbins, and :may, if desired, be out tack-:eensraerasiy, for example-tosave weight wi'thoutrafiecting. ItheIform 'of the compoundaperture. g

. The plates 1- and- 2 arearrangedione =o'verjhe til thatofia 'full one. The sides of the apertures forming the gauging edges are bevelled, (as shown in Figsfla to lg) so that the gauging edges I0, I5 are formed at the contacting faces of the two plates 1, 2.

Above'thetwo plates I; 2 is a sloping chute 20 of a' width 'su'ffi'cient to accommodate the length of aseries of'bobbins 2| rolling'downitjthechute 2 0 being carriedon rods'48 projecting "from a collar-49 on the shaft *4. On'each side of the bottom ofthebhute'ifl is a vertical spindle 22 having two hooked-"levers 23, I! and a cam 25 mounted thereon. The cams 25 are adapted tobe "engaged by projections 26 on'the' upper side of the upper plate '2, which thereby rotate the spindles 22 'and the-hooked levers 2 3, '24. The rotation 'of 'the levers 23 releases a bobbin-2 I heldby' the levers at the bottom-ofthe chutewhile at'the same time "the layers 24" project over "the side Walls of the chute andtprevent the remaining bobbins $21 from rollingidoWn to take the place of the one released.

When :the projections :26 have passed the 'cams 25,?thespindles 22 return to their original positionrunder thevinfiuencerof :springs 21, so allowing the remaining bobbins'to roll down, the lowest remaining bobbinwbeing arrestedby the hooked'ends of ithe levers 23. :In this way, the chute -2ll delivers the-bobbins 21 to the compound apertures I 'one at a time as bhe'aperitures in thesuperposedplates I., Z-pass below the bottom of the chute.

Extending in a clockwise direction irom the bottom of the chute 20 to a point diametrically oppositeis. the gauging ;half of the. machine, which sorting takes place. Sevenv apertures -marke'd.a g:, are shown-in Fig 1 as occupying this half of the machineand the seven corresponding Figures 1a to lg show how the gauging aredisp'osed 'agseriesof chutes 30 to '40 made of sheet metal, fabric or other sheet material, and

mounted onrodsll extending,=as shown in Fig. '2,

irom -a flange 4'2 a't the top of "the pedestal "43 'forming the base of the'mac'hine. 0f the eleven "bins "which havesubstantially no yarn "on "them (say'upt'o "1%.offtheTull'capacity of the bobbin) and fall throughithefopeningas so'on"as they "are delivered to'itizfromthe bottom of the chute 120. "flihe'remaining'ten'chutes 31 'to 40 are arranged to receive bobbins having successively greater amounts of yarn by increments of 10% of the full capacity of a bobbin, the chute 3! taking bobbins having from, say 1%, up to 10% of the amount of yarn on a full bobbin, the chute 32 receiving bobbins containing from 10 to 29% and so on, up to the chute lll which receives bobbins containing from S0 to 190%. It will b noted that the angles subtended at the centre of the machine by the several chutes are not equal. This is because, firstly, the increase in width of the apertures, though steady, is not uniform," and secondly because equal increments of weight do not imply equal increments of bobbin diameter. The sizes and positions of the chutes 30- 19 are calculated with these points in min-d, and by any suitable different arrangement of the chutes the bobbins may be sorted into any other desired groups.

In the operation of the device, the bobbins 2! are fed into the chute 26 by hand and the machine is driven by means of the worm 6 engaging the gear teeth 5 at the edges of the plates, the worm 6 being mounted on a shaft 45 driven by a motor 46 on a platform projecting from the pedestal it. The bobbins 25 ar delivered one by one to the apertures as the apertures pass beneath the lower end of the chute 20. Any bobbin having insuflicient yarn on it drops immediately through the aperture at its smallest size into the chute 3d, and is rejected. Any other bobbin at first rests in the aperture, being held between the gauging edges Hi, It thereof. As the aperture passes round the machine, the gauging edges l9, l5, move apart by reason of the eccentricity of the plates, as shown in Figs. id to 1g, and after a portion of a revolution depending on the amount of yarn on the bobbin, the edges are spaced apart by an amount equal to the diameter of the yarn surface of the bobbin.

At this stage the bobbin falls through, is received by one of the chutes iii-til and is delivered to a container disposed below the chute. A full bobbin will be retained between the gauging edges lil, l5 for nearly half a revolution of the machine, but ultimately the gauging edges will separate sufficiently to allow even a full bobbin to fall through into the chute it. In this way the bobbins are sorted into different containers, fed from diiierent points round the gauging half of the machine, each container receiving bobbins of a given range or" size, corresponding to the position round the machine at which the bobbin was delivered.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for sorting articles according to size, said apparatus comprising a pair of eccentrically superposed circular plates, each of said plates having at least one aperture therein, each aperture overlapping an aperture in the other plate and having a gauging edge co-operating with a gauging edge in the other plate to form a compound aperture, gear teeth on the edge of each plate, a gear engaging the gear teeth of both plates at a point where the edges of said plates intersect and means for rotating said gear so as to rotate said plates with the same angular speed about their difierent centers whereby, over part of the path of said compound aperture, the distance be ween aid gauging edges increases to allow an article resting in said gauging aperture to pass through it at a position in said path depending on the size of the article.

2. Apparatus for sorting flanged bobbins according to size, said apparatus comprising a pair of eccentrically superposed plates, each of said plates having'at least one aperture therein, each aperture overlapping an aperture in the other plate, said apertures being bounded by radial edges, including gauging edges, and transverse edges, the radial edges of each aperture in one plate being of different length than the radial edges of the cooperating aperture in the other plate and the gauging edge of the aperture in one plate being parallel to and cooperating with a gauging edge in the other plate to form a compound aperture and means for rotating said plates with the same angular speed about different centers so that said gauging edges remain parallel to one another throughout their motion relative to one another and, over part of the path of said compound aperture, the distance between said gauging edges increases to allow a bobbin resting in said gauging aperture to pass through it at a position in said path depending on the size of the bobbin, the ends of said gauging edges being cut back to different extents to accommodate the bobbin flanges.

3. Apparatus for sorting articles according to size, said apparatus comprising a pair of eccentrically superposed plates, each of said plates having at least one aperture therein, each aperture overlapping an aperture in the other plate, said apertures being bounded by radial edges, including gauging edges, and transverse edges, the radial edges of each aperture in one plate being of different length than the radial edges of the cooperating aperture in the other plate and the gauging edge of the aperture in one plate being parallel to and co-operating with a gauging edge in the other plate to form a compound aperture, each of said gauging edges being bevelled so that said edges are disposed on the plane of contact between said plates and means for rotating said plates with the same angular speed about different centers so that, over part of the path of said compound aperture, the distance between said gauging edges increases to allow an article resting in said gauging aperture to pass through it at a position in said path depending on the size of the article.

4. Apparatus for sorting flanged bobbins according to size, said apparatus comprising a pair of eccentrically superposed plates, each of said plates having at least one aperture therein, each aperture overlapping an aperture in the other plate, said apertures being bounded by radial edges, inluding gauging edges, and transverse edges, the radial edges of each aperture in one plate being of diiferent length than the radial edges of the cooperating aperture in the other plate and the gauging edge of the aperture in one plate being parallel to and cooperating with a gauging edge in the other plate to form a compound aperture, each of said gauging edges being bevelled so that said edges are disposed on the plane of contact between said plates and means for rotating said plates with the same angular speed about difierent centers so that said gauging edges remain parallel to one another throughout their motion relative to one another and, over part of the path of said compound aperture, the distance between said gauging edges increases to allow a bobbin resting in said gauging aperture to pass through it at a position in said path depending on the size of the bobbin, the ends of said gauging edges being cut back to difierent extents to accommodate the bobbin flanges.

5. Apparatus for sorting flanged bobbins according :to isize,zsaid' apparatuscomprismgnpalr of :eccentrically superposedcircularmlatesee ch other plate andshaving -a. gaugingredgetcoeoperating with a gauging edge in the other= p1ate;,to form a compound aperture;each'of-saicl-gauging edges being bevelled-so that said edges are-.idisposed on the plane of contact -Jcvetween wsaid plates, gear teeth on the .edge-:of-:each .-p1ate, a gear engaging thegear teethofboth plates at -a point where the edges-.of .said .platesdntersect 4 salesman ,-;and::.meansTitomnotatin saidcagearrcso as'rto rota'te saidgplates with athezsame angular speed :about their-flififient centers whereby; over part of the zgpath-offisaid:compoundiaperture, thedistance bertweennsaid-igauging zedges. increases to allow a 'bobbintresting insaid. gaugingaperture to pass through itrzatsa position in said path depending on thesize of: the bobbin-the ends of saidgaug- -ing edges being cut 'back vto accommodate the rlo bcbbins flanges.

ROBERT-ALFRED ARCHIBALD :WILLENS. 

